Michael Phelps

View of the Great Range from Phelps













Top of Phelps












Top of Tabletop













Indian Falls right above the herd path for Tabletop

Over Columbus Day weekend we hiked Tabletop and Phelps. It was another camping trip and it was a blast.....and very busy. Tabletop is usually very quiet people say but when we were there it was quite busy. We started at the ADK Loj and had to cross Marcy Brook. Usually stream crossings are not too bad but I always get nervous crossing streams because I'm afraid of slipping and falling. Marcy Brook was especially bad because it was not an easy crossing, we had to cross the brook once walk across and island then cross the other part, we have full packs, and I don't have long legs. We camped a mile from Marcy Brook at the Phelps Campsite. There were 13 tents including ours. We have never had to share a campsite with anyone so it was a new experience. When we got to the start of the Tabletop herd path we decided to finish climbing the hill we were on so we would be able to see Indian Falls. When we did Marcy we weren't sure how far Indian Falls were from the trail so we didn't stop for the views. Big mistake. It is only about 10 yards from the trail and it is beautiful. When we got back down to the start of Tabletop it was very muddy. Then it started to get steep. The steeps didn't last long because it was only half a mile to the top from the start of the trail. We had lunch on Tabletop then went back down to the start of the trail to Phelps. Phelps was just plain old steep. We had to gain 1,300 feet in one mile and we were tired. Also my Dad didn't bring the water sterilizer so we were VERY thirsty and were saving our water that we had. The top of Phelps was pretty cool. There were tons of little paths around the summit and it had a great view of the whole Great Range. When we got to the campsite we grabbed our water sterilizer and bushed whacked a way to Phelps Brook down from the campsite. Sadly our sterilizer was not working so we could only make up one liter of water. That was enough for us to share for the moment but not enough for us to drink from, cook with and wash our dishes with. When we got back to the campsite we boiled water so it would be sterilized and then made dinner. The hike out was longer than I thought. I thought we would be out around 10:30 but we made it out around 11:30. Even though it was only three miles we were tired and we had heavy packs.
-ADK Gurl

The Queen Of New York

Lake Tear Of The Clouds (Start of the Hudson River)

Top of Marcy

Marcy Dam (the bridge is out from

Irene)














Yesterday we hiked Mount Marcy the tallest peak in NY. It was a long hard hike but we met up with a guy who is attempting to get to the tallest point in each of the 50 states. The hike up was moderately steep but not bad. Once we got to the last mile to half mile it got steeper and we were on bare open rock. Almost at the top of Marcy we came across some ice. Winter is coming fast in the peaks we may only have one or two hikes left for the year but luckily all of the High Peaks are open from Irene a few weeks back. We started at South Meadows. South Meadows is a road that is used for emergencies only but people hike on it. We chose this route because we didn't want to pay for parking and since the Marcy Dam Bridge is out we were not sure how the brook crossing would be. Other than this it would make us walk an extra three tenths of a mile. My Dad said we would take the lodge is we ever do this again because we hated those last few tenths. The hike was a total of 15.3 miles and I'm still sore from all that walking.
-ADK Gurl

See More On Seymor...Kind Of....

Top of Seymor














Seward (right), Donaldson (middle) and Emmons (left) view from Seymor

the cairn that starts the Seymor herd path

memorial stone on Seymor

We hiked Seymor about a week ago. Seymor is one of the mountains in the Seward Range and it was one of the mountains that we were aloud to hike since Irene came through. We started early as always at a trailhead that only had one car at it. Hmm...strange since this was one of the few peaks that was open we thought that it would be more busy. There was a man that dropped by as we were getting ready to set off that talked to us saying that there were two trailheads and this was only the first one. The wrong one. We drove about 20 minutes farther to a very busy parking lot and continued to get ready and set off. Behind schedule....as always. We got to the Ward Brook Lean-to at 10:00 when my Dad thought we would get there around lunch. A little ways on was the start of the herd path. And up we went. We gained most of our elevation in that last two-tenths of a mile and then went over a bunch of "fake-summits" untill we finally reached the marker where there was a 46er keeping the herd path maintained. He showed us a spot with a good view becuase the summit was just trees. Then headed back down and did the whole trip breaks and lunch included in only 11 hours.
-ADK Gurl

Didn't Find The Needle...But Found The Dime!

Basin from Haystack














WARNING: This spot looks confusing because of the logs. We crossed the brook then crossed it again. The real trail is if you go straight instead of across it.

Slant Rock

Marcy and Panther Gorge from Haystack

Dad, Minni and I at the top of Haystack

A wierd plant that looks like a vase with flowers almost at the top of Haystack

Haystack and Little Haystack from "Haystack Bump"

Johns Brook Lodge

Minni pointing us in the right direction

On Friday we hiked Haystack! It was definitely one to do again. We started from the garden with weight on our shoulders. It was my third backpacking adventure. We hiked past the Johns Brook Lodge (JBL) and continued onto Bushnell Falls where the first option to camp out was. We were aiming for Slant Rock but our plans didn't work out when my shoulders were screaming. So we dropped our packs and headed for Haystack. We hiked up the gorge and were tired but had to keep on going...There was only a mile left!!! We reached the top of "Haystack Bump." A mound of rocks that was before Little Haystack and Haystack. Then went on to Little Haystack where we had .3 miles left. Well that was the longest three tenths I've ever taken. Those three tenths took ONE HOUR! But it was worth it! :) At the top of Haystack it was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!!! You have a great view of Panther Gorge which was a gorge on the side of Marcy and good views of Marcy too. The hike down was quick I was telling my dad about the books I am reading. It felt like the hike down took a half hour! When I start rambling I guess I really ramble! The campsite we had was not as great as the one at Colvin and Blake but it was nice. The hike out was a long 5.3 miles but we were done by lunch and before Irene hit. The bridge to the Garden was wiped out so we would have been stranded! But luckily we were on the safe side.
-ADK Gurl

First Peak Under 4,000 Feet

Gill Brook

Hiking down the private road to the trail

The trailhead Minni is getting a piggy back ride as always (you can see him on the right side of the picture in my pack)

The Santanonis

Nippletop

Giant

Top of Covin

Top of Blake

Blake Peak

The Ausable Club House

We climbed Blake and Colvin on Thursday and Friday Blake is our first High Peak under 4,000 ft. We were going to aim for Nippletop too but it rained and destroyed our spirts to do that climb. We went to the Ausable Road trail head and hiked the 3 miles of private road that your not aloud to drive on unless you are a club member. Once we got to the first trail to hike up to Colvin and Blake my Dad asked me if I wanted to stay on the road and get on a different trail farther up or take a trail that got us off the road faster. I voted to stay on the road a while longer. When we got to the second trail it had a steep section and crossed a brook once. When we met up with the other trail there were three campsites. One on the left that we saw first, and two more on the right. The first campsite we saw on the right was popular we saw someone had set up came the Wednesday before and the Thursday we hiked. The last campsite was at least .1 miles farther up and it was a steep climb to do with a heavy pack. We chose for the site on the left. You had to cross two brooks to get to the campsite and when you looked around you discovered you were on an island. I had a bunch of Gatorade at the campsite so I booked up the trail to Colvin from all the energy it gave me. My balance was great and I was quick thinking. When we got to the top of Colvin we stopped for lunch and took a nice long break. Then went over to go hike Blake. It was a hard mile and a half of steep downhill and steep uphill. It was a pain. When we were hiking back to our campsite it was POARING DOWN RAIN!!! So much for the great weather that the weather man had predicted. The next day we hiked out the other trail. The one we didn't take going in. It was a very nice trail and very pretty.
-ADK Gurl

Macintyre Range....DONE!!!!!

Dad and I at the top of Marshall

The Upper Works trail head.

A suspension Bridge that was really fun to run across :)

The Pi bridge right after the Pi Bridge on the left is the carne that marks the start of the herd path.

Iroquois from Marshall

Henderson monument who accidently killed himself in that spot.

We completed the Macintyre Range which is Wright, Algonquin, Iroquois and Marshall which has been recently completed by yours truly. We got up at 5:00 am. We got to the trail head around 6:30 and started on the Upper Works trail. It was a 4 1/2 mile hike of flatness to the herd path for Marshall. When we got to the herd path there was a cairn that marked the start. It was a 2 mile hike up to the summit and it was steep, muddy, and wet I can just remember the contour lines.If you are to ever hike Marshall 3,500 feet in elevation is the worst it felt like we were stuck there it was so steep and muddy. We got to the summit around 1:30 where we had lunch. At the top you wonder if you really are there because there is no views. There is a yellow marker in a tree that has Marshall faded away on it. We got to the back to our car around 8:00.
-ADK Gurl

Big Al...And Iroquois and Wright

Top of Algonguin with clouds

The Tent

Algonguin from Wright

Top of Wright (I was really tierd)

Top Of Iroquois

Boundary looking at Iroquois

Boundary (not a High Peak) looking at Algonquin

We finally did the backpacking trip we have been wanting to do. Algonquin, Iroquois and Wright. We started hiking around 7:30 am by taking the trail head by the ADK Loj. We dropped off our gear by the campsite at the waterfall. The trail up was steep but in excellent condition. We got to the top of Algonquin around noon right when the clouds were parting. Then after Algonquin we hiked over to Iroquois. The hike over to Iroquois was not bad but very boggy. The hardest part was at the end when there was a big rock that seemed kind of dangerous. We went to the right and avoided the rock scramble. Once we got to the top of Iroquois we went back to Algonquin then went down and decided to do Wright. I was exhausted but we managed to make it up. I was very glad we decided to camp out.
-ADK Gurl

Giant Hike On Giant And Rocky Peak

We hiked both Giant and Rocky Peak. That was a hard hike. We started at 7:30 from the Ridge trail. It was steep but pretty short. We got to the top of Giant at 10:00. We then decided to try Rocky Peak. We never even imagined that it would be as steep as it was. There were many steep, wet rock slabs and at one point I thought we would have to turn around. We got to the top of Rocky Peak at 1:00. We then headed back. We got to the car at 7:45 in the evening which was much later than we had imagined.



Slides on Giant

Minni next to a survey marker on Giant

Me on Rocky Peak (It was freezing!!!)

Veiw From Rocky Peak

Top of Giant

Trail front of the Ridge Trail

-ADK Gurl

Big Sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide

Cave in between Brother 1 and 2














A snake on Brother 2
















Top of Big Slide with my Dad

Me and Minni








Over Memorial weekend we hiked Big Slide over the Brothers. It was a pretty hike and was a lot harder than Cascade and Porter. The first two Brothers were very close together but the last one was farther away. The first two brothers had good views but the last one didn't. We reached the summit around 1:00 and had our lunch. We then went back down. On the way back we ran out of water between Brother 3 and Brother 2. It was a good hike and I'm excited to get back at it.
-ADK Gurl